Operation: DARK-KNIGHT
by mrastounding
Summary: (Dangerous Alliances Require Keen Kid Nobly Investigating Greatly Horrific Tragedies) When the enemies of the KND team up with internationally known criminals, will a young boy who's childhood ended early be able to help them out? Rachel/#362XNigel/#1; Kuki/#3XWally/#4; Abby/#5XHoagie/#2; Fanny/#86XBruce/Batman
1. Chapter 1

Author's note:

First off, I'd like to apologize for the heavy deleting of files from this account. Let's just say I'm trying to make sure I'm centered right now and leave it at that. Anyways, large thanks to MetroXLR99 for indirectly giving me the idea for this story and I hope that he, and the rest of you guys, will appreciate the concept. Anyways, enjoy.

Prologue

"Dad, I know we intruded on you and your workers and all that, but this is going too far!" declared a red-headed girl around the age of twelve in a green long-sleeved shirt who was tied to a metal bar along with a blonde girl of similar aged dressed in orange and blue, as well as several other kids who were decked out in various wardrobes. "Sorry, sweetie, but my new partner made it clear that we're not letting ANYONE off easy," declared the person who appeared to be the leader with a slight sneer, to which the blond groaned, "THIS is what I get for not checking up on possible ownership of the place before coming here."

(Space bump)

In case your wondering, the red-head and blonde are Kids Next Door operatives Numbuh's 86 and 362, who decided to personally test the moral standings of their operatives in a secure location with a specially designed obstacle course and written exam drawn up shortly after Numbuh 12's betrayal back with the incident with the code module. Unfortunately, nobody could have guessed that the chosen location, an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the town where Sector V's treehouse was located, was secretly a processing plant of some kind set up by the adults. That said, when they showed up for the SECOND of the tests to be held, as they had held one the previous year, they didn't expect to be ambushed, sedated, and then hogtied above a vat of boiling caramel sauce by none other then Fanny's father, Mr. Boss. Anyway, on with the story.

(Space bump)

"How long until that last batch is done?" the corrupt business man asked one of his workers, to which he replied, "The last canister is being prepped for delivery as we speak, though I STILL don't get why we can't just administer that stuff ourselves." "We've got too many people watching us as it is: I'm amazed at how many got mad at us for that whole 'send children to Pluto' thing once the cops found out about it," Mr. Boss replied, "If it wasn't for the fact that I was able to write it off as testing a new type of rocket, as well as an attempt to see what the effects of interplanetary flight would have on youth, we wouldn't be able to even pull THIS part of the job off."

"Well, you WON'T get away with it this time, because I already sent out a distress beacon to Sector V," declared the KND's supreme leader, to which the lone scientist in the room scoffed, "Then it's a shame that conventional monitoring networks are unable to pick up ANY sort of signal from in here, thanks to the jamming devices I set up." It's at this point that one of the men in the building suddenly screamed out in terror. "What was that?" Mr. Boss demanded, to which one the other workers shrugged stated, "Maybe the Toiletnator showed up or something." This was proven wrong when the sound of someone screaming was heard from someone who was now hanging from one of the rafters by a rope of some kind. Before anyone could react to this, however, a small explosion was heard, followed by a stream of water flowing into the caramel sauce, causing it to become cold enough to land in without being burned, yet soft enough to not be hurt by the impact. "No problem: I'll increase the heat output," the scientist declared, only for it to become impossible by an object being thrown into the control panel, destroying it.

The head of de-commissioning was stunned: this was all done with sheer precision, all which seemed geared at freaking their captors out. Even if Numbuh's 3, 5, or those BOYS had gotten the distress signal her friend had sent out, THIS wasn't one of the things they were know for doing. What REALLY got her attention, though, was the weapon used to destroy the controls: sleek in design, capable of numerous modifications that she could already envision, and with the ability of nearly silent delivery to it's target, but most curious of all, the weapon seemed to be a boomerang that was shaped like a bat.

Suddenly, a figure dropped down from the ceiling into a large group of workers who were now carrying various melee weapons. Both the adults AND children present were stunned as what appeared to be a pre-teen in a black outfit and wearing a mask proceeded to beat the stuffing out of them: while a few of the thugs would score the odd hit, NONE of them were left standing within a matter of minutes as this mysterious person, who was CLEARLY a male around the age of twelve, seemed to be fighting on a level that seemed similar to that of an adult black belt. As the figure did what appeared to be some minor stretches, the scientist took out a firearm and approached him, only to be backhanded into unconsciousness.

Mr. Boss, deciding that he should make a break for it while he could, hastily made a dash for the door, only for his feet to be tied up with a bolos. He watched as the figure threw another of his bat-shaped boomerangs at the rope, cutting at JUST the right point for it to be severed and allow for easy untangling. He then found himself hoisted up so that he was able to look right into the eyes of the mystery man. He was stunned to see the clear youth in the features that his mask, which had what looked like horns or bat ears on top and only allowed for the eyes and jaw to be seen, yet at the same time a sheer coldness in his expression that usually only adults were capable of.

"What do you want?" Numbuh 86 heard her father ask, fear clearly evident. "Information: where's Sionis holding up?" the figure demanded in a tone that, while she'd probably never admit it, was kind of attractive in a rough-and-tough sort of way. "What are you talking about? I don't know any…" her father began before being cut off by being punched in the gut. "You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about, Simon Fulbright, or do you prefer Mr. Boss?" he deadpanned, before stating, "I KNOW that Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask, wants you to help him create a chemical he plans on lacing various products, many of which are popular with children, after he has it inspected by a third-party companion, in return for some industrial assistance: now where is he?"

"Look: I may not always be the best businessman around, but I know a thing or two about how if you speak about secrets, they tend to get spread," Mr. Boss quipped, "So you're going to have to…what are you doing?" The business guru was stunned as the boy in the mask took out another, well, "batarang" and threw it at the rope that held up the man hanging from the rafters: somehow the fact that the fall wouldn't kill him wasn't all that comforting. "Unless you want to see if you have the same luck as him, TALK!"

"Okay, you win," Rachel heard Mr. Boss say as she and the others finally all got suitable footing, "I actually don't know where he is right now: I was supposed to contact him so he could find ME. He WAS staying at this one lodge on the north side of town, but the moment he realizes the shipment's been compromised, he'll be gone before you can even blink." The Supreme Commander of the KND was stunned: NOBODY had given this much away in one of THEIR interrogations, so whoever this guy was, he knew what he was doing. "That's fine: I'll find him anyways," the figure stated in a way that told her that it was no lie.

It was then that Mr. Boss asked the question that was on EVERYONE'S mind: "WHO ARE YOU?" Before knocking the man unconscious, he simply stated, "I'm Batman." Suddenly, Sector V's deployment pods crashed in through the windows. "Alright, team: let's get to…work?" Numbuh 1 said with confusion, to which Numbuh 4 declared, "We responded to a grabbled distress beacon for THIS?"

"It's not what you think: we were rescued by…where'd he go?" Fanny heard one of the other operatives say as she approached the control panel, the weapon that sparked her fascination with their apparent savior still lodged in it. "Numbuh 5 wonders if this was all just a waste of our time," the African-American operative deadpanned, to which Numbuh 2, who was inspecting a broken piece of pipe, stated, "I don't think so: from what I can tell, this was done with someone ELSE'S equipment."

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard from the designated garage Everyone ran inside just in time to see the mysterious "Batman" putting away a strange gadget away in the belt he seemed to be wearing. As he tapped some buttons on what seemed to be a mini-computer on his sleeve, he stated, "You might want to get out of here before the cops respond to the 'anonymous' tip I'm sending them." "You can't call the cops on US, you meanie!" Numbuh 3 declared, to which he stated, "It's not for you: it's for those men taking a nap in the other room."

"Wait: you wouldn't consider joining the Kids Next Door, would you?" Numbuh 362 asked, to which Batman stated, "I'm willing to work WITH you, but I won't work FOR you, and in case your curious as to why, let's just say I no longer HAVE a childhood." "Well, how will we know where to find you?" Numbuh 4 asked, sounding more then a little irritated. "I'll find you," he said with confidence, before pressing a button on his arm.

Numbuh 86 simply gaped as a small plane that was shaped like a bat flew in by itself and hovered a few feet away from where they were standing. As Batman climbed into it via a small seat that looked a LOT like a ladder, she thought she heard Numbuh 2 say, "I GOT to get me one of THOSE." She watched him fly off, but not before she noticed something. While he seemed to be calm, cool, and collected, but at that last moment before he disappeared inside the plane, she thought she saw pain inside Batman's eyes, similar to what she saw in her OWN eyes after she had been emotionally kicked when she was down. It was at THAT moment she knew that whoever this guy was, he wasn't like other boys. "Who IS that masked man?" she thought to herself as she and the others ultimately decided to take the advice they were given and leave before the cops showed up, knowing full well this WASN'T the end to the story.

Author's note:

It's SO tempting to simply say "The end" right here and now, but I can't: there's just too many ideas running through my head right now. Just so you know, I'm having it that "Operation: Graduation" happened when Sector V and company were at age eleven or something like that. Hope I didn't drive anyone nuts with the way I kept switching the POV of the story without warning, since it's that way for a reason. Anyway, let me know what other DC figures you'd like to see here and I'll see if I can squeeze any of them in.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Millionaires: SO last year

Fanny couldn't stop herself from replaying what had occurred last night. After they had gotten back to the moon-base and gone over the video they managed to get off the cameras they had installed, everyone had their own reactions: Numbuh 4 seemed to be interested in "Batman's" fighting style, Numbuh 5 seemed curious about why somebody who didn't consider himself a child would help them out, Numbuh 3 was wondering why this guy seemed almost "dead" to her, and Numbuh 1 kept saying that this guy was NUTS to turn down Numbuh 362's offer to join them. Speaking of her superior, she and Numbuh 2 had a field day with their scientist trying to figure out how to replicate some of the equipment the mysterious figure had used, there words still clear in her head.

(Flashback)

"What do you MEAN it doesn't exist?" demanded the Supreme commander. "Exactly what I said, sir," replied Numbuh 74.239, "Our top hackers searched every file on the adult AND kid related databases that they could find and from what we can tell, the stuff this 'Batman' was using hasn't been put on any level. Closest we could get to anything was something a few hundred military contracts that went belly-up due to being too expensive."

(End flashback)

THAT told HER that whoever that guy was must be LOADED, but that STILL didn't give her any clue to his identity. Oh, well: she was sure to find out sooner or later. "I have a special announcement today, class," declared Mrs. Thompson, interrupting her thoughts, "We have the privilege of welcoming a new student. Tell us your name, young man." A black-haired boy of the age of 12, wearing clothing that seemed to be business casual, simply smiled and stated, "Wayne; Bruce Wayne."

(Later that day…)

"Thanks for letting me sit here," Bruce stated at the lunch table where Sector V, as well as Rachel and Fanny sat. "No problem, man: we've all been a new student at some point," Hoagie stated. Suddenly, Tommy approached the said KND operative and whined, "Hey did you guys hear the news? Somebody tried to impersonate The Tommy last night." "The Tommy?" Bruce asked, to which Hoagie simply stated, "Long story; anyways, what are you talking about?"

"He's talking about the Batman," addressed a blonde-haired girl who quickly approached their table with a tape recorder in hand, "Vicki Vale of the Galla-Gab: mind if I asked why a child millionaire would suddenly appear at a quiet location like Gallagher Elementary?" "First off, it's BILLIONAIRE, Vicki: millionaires are SO last year," Bruce said with a grin, "and secondly, you could say I'm simply returning home. I lived here in town a few years back, but left for a couple of years for PERSONAL reasons. As for what I'm doing HERE, I figured the best way to help my family's goal of achieving a peaceful co-existence with those less fortunate then others is to show that I'm to put myself at risk for the common people. After all, my enemies would stop at nothing to keep me from interfering with their dirty work."

"Speaking of enemies, the public wants to know your opinion: based on what was seen in the footage from the evening news, is the mysterious Batman a friend or foe?" Vicki continued. "I admit that anyone who dresses like a bat probably has more then a few problems," the billionaire stated, "but my parents always told me that one's character is determined both by what you do AND why you do it. Batman's actions helped the police get one step closer to bringing in one of the worst criminals of our time, so I agree with what Captain Gordon said when he stated that 'his actions are a bit extreme, but it appears he wants to help,' though I can't say I agree with the arrest warrant they put on him."

Everyone in the loop of the KND, including Tommy, was stunned a this new revelation: if their enemies were working with criminals that some of the ADULTS were worried about, they might be in for some trouble in the future. Not only that, but the police were looking to lock up somebody who was actually trying to help, though this didn't really surprise them as much: they probably were just threatened that a man in a mask was ACTUALLY capturing criminals. "Thank you, Mr. Wayne," Vicki stated, "It's been a pleasure." "The pleasure is all mine, Miss Vale," Bruce stated, before some vibrating was heard, to which he pulled out a tablet of some sort. "Sorry, but I'll need a rain check on getting to know you guys: there's a problem I need to deal with," he stated after looking at it for a bit.

"What is this? He's acting like an adult!" Nigel exclaimed as the billionaire steadily walked out of the cafeteria, to which Vicki sighed, "You would too if you were forced into the work force at age eight." "What do you mean?" Rachel asked, to which Vicki starred at her, "You mean you don't know? I thought EVERYONE knew about Thomas and Martha Wayne's murder in Crime Alley four years ago!" Fanny gasped, for NOBODY deserved to live a life shrouded in darkness. Suddenly, the lights in the cafeteria went out, followed by the sound of maniacal laughter.

To be continued…

In case you haven't guessed by now, this story will sort of reflect "Batman: Year One." But before I continue with this story, I should let you know that there will be some subtle changes to the back-stories of some of the DC Universe characters. Also, before I forget, Lizzie isn't going to make an appearance, as this story is, as you can probably already guess, set in a slight AU of either the DC universe OR KND-verse. In any case, hope the next chapter will be worth the wait. In the meantime, if there's any other DC character's you'd like to see, please speak up.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note:

For those of you who remember how the chapter originally ended, I just want to say that, for the record, Scarecrow will still be making an appearance in this story. However, I decided to change which villain was behind the attack at the school for this chapter since it's too soon to showcase certain members of Batman's rogues gallery. Also, for those of you who guessed that Joker is the source of the laughter, I feel I should point out that would be INSANE laughter, not MANIACAL laughter: there is a difference. Anyway, let's get going.

Chapter 2

The Bat vs. the Bird

As armed thugs burst into the room, Sector V and their fellow Kids Next Door members were admittedly confused at the situation: aside from the time that Grandma Stuffum worked in the cafeteria, lunch was usually attack-free ever since that Robin Food was put in jail for disorderly conduct. Before they could contemplate any sort of strategy against these admittedly well-dressed holigans, however, a stout figure with a monocle who was using an umbrella as a cane strutted his way into the room. "Greetings, Gallagher Elementary," he said with a thick accent, "I apologize for intruding on your lunch break, but a little birdie told me that there was a spoiled rich kid among you lot that needed to be taught some manners."

"Oh, give me a break," declared Tina Brians, also known as Numbuh 10, Nigel Uno/Numbuh One's cousin, "What's the REAL reason you're after Bruce Wayne?" This immediately got a rise out of the guys with guns, but the short figure simply laughed and signaled them to hold off on the attack. "I have to give you credit, little missy," he stated as he pointed the tip of his umbrella at her, "Not too many people are brave enough to try and rain on Oswald Cobblepot's parade. It's a good thing I always carry an umbrella."

As soon as he said this, though, something totally unexpected happened: a round was shot right next to where she was sitting, from the tip of the umbrella! "Let this serve as reminder," Mr. Cobblepot began, "There's a difference between being brave and stupid. However, I guess I owe you SOME explanation before I decide what to do with you and the rest of your classmates. Long before Brucie's parents were shot and killed, his family has made a habit of making MINE miserable. Oh, sure: the Cobblepot's may have a tendency to get into trouble with the law from time to time, but what family business doesn't? Wayne Enterprises, THAT'S what!

"It makes me SICK hearing how great the Wayne family is when all they've ever done is pretend that they're better then those who know that TRUE greatness is meant to be shared. But do THEY get involved in the weapons business? Do THEY support REAL business opportunities? No, they do not!" the stout man ranted, "Because of the Brucie's family, MINE is practically a laughing stock. His family DESTROYED mine: I'M just returning the favor."  
"You'll never get away with this," Fanny declared, to which Cobblepot laughed, "Yeah right: my men have enough firepower to take out an army." "Good thing I didn't bring an army then," declared a voice from the shadows, "Oswald Cobblepot, known in the criminal underworld as 'The Penguin:' even if you somehow manage to escape this place, I've sent an anonymous tip to the police of your whereabouts." One of the thugs tried to grab a hostage, but quickly found himself tripped up with a bolos. Another thug had his gun yanked from his hand with some sort cable that practically came out of nowhere.

All of a sudden, a few of the light fixtures were knocked out with a few metal clangs. One of Penguin's men stooped to the ground and picked up a metal boomerang in the shape of a bat. "Boss, he's here," one of the other goons declared, sounding more then a little scared. "Then don't just stand there: flush him out!" the stout figure demanded. As if on cue, though, a cable swooped out and caught the man known as the Penguin as strung him up from the rafters like a Christmas ornament. "Find him, kill him, and then cut me down!" he ordered.

It seemed that this was an order on deaf ears, however: of the ten goons still able to fight left in the room, only one of them still had a gun. A shadow moved in the rafters, causing him to fire rapidly. It seemed that it was for nothing, however, as the figure in the darkness somehow ended up on the other side of the room. Another barrage of gunfire later, the seriously freaked out felon yelled out, "WHERE ARE YOU!?" Fanny could have sworn that, just before the man seemingly fainted, she heard someone whisper the word, "Here."

A good minute or two later and the remaining goons were getting anxious. Before anyone knew what hit them, though, a dark figure dropped down and proceeded to beat the tar out of them. Within the time span it would take to heat a microwave dinner, everyone was knocked out. "You've got a price, right?" Penguin inquired, "I've yet to meet a man who can't be bought." "Then you've never encountered a Batman," the figure stated as the sound of sirens could be heard outside.

"I'd love to stand around and talk all day," Batman declared, "but justice waits for no one." With that, he threw down a smoke pellet. As the dust settled, everyone in the room was thinking the exact same thing: "Who ARE you, Batman?"

Author's note:

Be honest: did I portray that okay? Also, for those of you who want Joker to show up, don't worry: he will make an appearance eventually. In the meantime, let me know who else you want to show up in this story.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

It's such an "Ice" Day (part 1)

"It's always a pleasure to see that SOME adults aren't so bad," Rachel said as she clapped inside the auditorium a few days later. It seemed that Gallagher Elementary had the honor of getting a visit from renowned humanitarian, Ferris Boyle. "Any of you faces of tomorrow have any questions?" he asked, before Bruce Wayne spoke up, "I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but as someone who's seen his fair share of secrets in his life, I MUST know if there's any chance my friends in the research department are wrong about the rumors about how you treat people whenever the cameras aren't rolling." "A fair question, I must admit," Mr. Boyle replied, "Everyone wears a mask from time to time, but I believe that you should only threaten someone when you are yourself threatened and that…did somebody forget to pay the heating bill?"

To everyone's astonishment, he wasn't joking: it was getting incredibly cold in the building, which was saying something since winter was only just starting. Suddenly, a wall burst open and men wearing black masks burst into the room shooting sub-machine guns. A man in a mechanized suit with blue skin walked up to the microphone and stated, "Those who do not wish to die are allowed 1 minute to leave, but if you refuse, your pleas for help will be trampled upon like snow on the ground." Immediately, Ferris bolted for the exit, only to find his legs frosted over. "Except for you: I require a moment of your time," the man in the suit declared.

"Victor Fries? You're supposed to be dead!" Boyle declared, to which Fries stated, "For all intents and purposes, I am. And the name's Mr. Freeze now." One of the security forces pulled out a gun at this and stated, "Let him go or I'll shoot." Knocking him away, Freeze stated, "Treats are meaningless to a man who's lost EVERYTHING!" "Let's get as many people out of here as we can," Bruce whispered to Fanny, to which she nodded, "We MIGHT be able to take down this guy, but first we need to minimize the possible causalities."

As soon as they rallied everyone outside, however, it became clear that the men in the black masks weren't the ONLY pieces of muscle the man known as "Mr. Freeze" had brought along, for the hallways ALSO were crawling with… "Ice Cream Men," Numbuh 1 growled upon noticing their ranks, to which Bruce inquired, "I wonder what they're doing with Black Mask's men?" "Not sure yet, but whatever it is, it CAN'T be good," Numbuh 2 remarked. "In that case," Bruce stated taking out a phone, "I better try and get some assistance. Alfred, can you hear me?" There was silence, and then, "Only just, sir: the weather seems to be messing with communications." "See if you can't contact the police for me," Bruce said with a small grin, "Also, be sure to send something my way to help with eliminating the possibility of hostages." "Will do, sir: will you be require anything else?" the apparent voice of Alfred inquired, to which Bruce stated, "Something that can deal with sub-zero temperatures would be nice." "I'll send it immediately," was the reply.

"Who was that?" Numbuh 5 asked, to which Bruce stated, "That was Alfred, my butler and surrogate father." "He seems nice," Numbuh 3 stated, to which he replied with, "You have no idea. I'm going to check to see if he's here yet: TRY to stay out of danger." As he ran off, Numbuh 4 stated, "Want to start taking out those creeps?"

15 minutes later…

Armed with mustard blasters, gumball launchers, and other weapons, the KND, and Tommy, who'd decided to tag along, had yet to find any lead on where "Mr. Freeze" was taking Mr. Boyle. Though they'd taken out a few of the goons here and there, it seemed that a lot of them were decked out with advanced weapons, some of which seemed to be based on freezing the opponents. Suddenly, a large figure wearing body armor approached them. "I'm going to tear you apart," he stated, before being knocked down to the ground. "Not while I'M here, you won't," Batman, wearing a bulkier version of his normal suit that had the chin covered up, declared.

"Even YOU can't take down all of us alone," stated a voice from a bunch of armed thugs that suddenly burst in to the room. "Then it's a good thing he's NOT alone," Rachel declared. "You guys take the infantry men: Goliath's cousin is MINE," Batman deadpanned. Simply nodding, Fanny and the others took down the goons, paying close attention as the Dark Knight made a few swipes at the man in the armor a few times with his cape before proceeding to punch the man with a few quick and precise jabs. He then proceeded to pull what seemed to be an important piece of the armor off, causing it to fall off completely, which influenced one of the smaller men to try and attack Batman while his attention was elsewhere. Thinking quickly, Fanny fired a stun gun at them, drawing their attention long enough for the Caped Crusader to knock out the large figure.

A few minutes later, all of the thugs were knocked out, except for one, who Batman quickly grabbed. "Where is Freeze taking Feris?" he demanded, to which the thug chuckled slightly, "You really think I'll talk? I KNOW you won't kill me." "True, but you can't say the same about THEM, can you?" the Dark Knight said, gesturing towards the KND members. The thug gulped as even Numbuh 3 had murder in her eyes, so he quickly stated, "Even if I wanted to tell you, Black Mask will KILL me if I tell you what's going on." "There are worse things than death: what to see them?" Batman threatened.

"Alright, you win," the thug relented, "That Freeze character promised Roman some of Bole's secret technology in exchange for help with what's he's got planned." "Which is?" Fanny questioned, to which Batman remarked, "What she said." "I don't know if even Sionis knows," the thug replies, "but whatever it is, it's got something to do with some sort of experiment in cryo-technology that seems to be hush-hush." "Same to you, I'm afraid," stated the Dark Knight as he knocked him unconscious.

"I don't suppose that I can tell you to leave this to the professionals, can I?" the Caped Crusader inquired, to which Tommy retorted with, "I don't see YOU leaving this to the police." "I would if they actually DID their job," he barked out, before sighing and saying, "Sorry: I've just seen too many backstabbers in my life." "It's alright," Rachel stated, "but you have to understand that you're not alone in this: there ARE people out there who want to help you." Sighing, Tommy then stated, "Sorry about what I said: I just don't understand why you're doing this." "I'm doing this because I made a promise to make sure NOBODY spread tyranny without being punished, adult or otherwise," Batman declared with determination, before pressing a few buttons on the mini-computer on his sleeve, "If you TRULY want to help, meet me at Burton Corp." With that, he grappled into the darkness.

Author's note:

Just so that you know, this chapter, and one or two afterwards, is/will be reminiscent of "Batman: Arkham Origins, Cold, Cold Heart." Also, I'm modifying some of the Batman-verse terminology to fit with the KND storyline (which is why I said "Burton Corp" and not "Goth Corp"). Until next time, remember that the hammer of justice is unisex (bonus points to anyone who knows where I got this from).


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4

It's such an "Ice" Day (part 2)

Outside of Burton Corp, the KND, and Tommy, were waiting for Batman to show up, seeing as they needed something to crack the security system to get inside. "Remind me why we don't just break into this place?" Numbuh 4 whined, to which Numbuh 2 replied with, "BECAUSE we don't want to cause more trouble then we have to." "Spoken like a true Dark Knight," Batman replied as he stepped out of the shadows, "Sorry I'm late: had to stop a crime in progress a few blocks back." "Yeah, whatever," Tommy said indifferently, to which Batman retorted, "For the record, I'm NOT imitating you Tommy, or do you prefer THE Tommy?"

"How'd you…?" Numbuh 5 began, to which the Capped Crusader scoffed, "The reason that I said that your sector's tech operative was 'a true Dark Knight' is because I can tell he and I share the same common interests AND have similar means of solving problems: hard as it may be to believe, your brain will get you out more jams then your brawn. Simply put, I'm not just a crime fighter: I'm ALSO a detective." Turning to Tommy, Batman stated, "Not sure exactly what inspired YOUR costume, but there was a time where bats actually frightened me, and I wanted my enemies to share my dread." "You wanted to strike fear into those who prey on the fearful," Numbuh 3 summarized, having discovered some new-found respect for the vigilante, which only increased when Batman nodded and stated, "I ALSO wanted to keep a promise I made to a couple of people I cared for."

"That's nice and all but…" Numbuh 1 stated, to which Batman nodded. "I'll get the door open," he remarked, pulling out a small devise from his belt. As he turned the dials on it a few times, the electronic lock eventually registered that the door was open. "Stay close to me: I'll keep you safe," the Dark Knight insisted. Fanny wasn't sure why, but she found herself agreeing to it.

(space bump)

A few minutes later, they came across a catwalk above what looked to be the industrial section of the building. "So where do we…?" Numbuh 5 began to inquire, only to be silenced by Batman. "Listen," he commanded. Quieting down, they heard voices below them. "Give me Boyle or I'll freeze this entire room," Mr. Freeze declared, to which they heard someone give a raspy chuckle. "No, I don't think you will," the mystery person declared, "Ferris has the codes you need, and I'm not giving him up unless I get what he's giving you." "What's behind this door is of no interest to you," Freeze declared, to which the same person declared, "Then how come I feel that you're hiding something of value from me?" "This is NOT the deal we made, Roman," the former Burton Corp employee deadpanned. "Yeah, well then sue me, AFTER I get what's behind that door," the apparent voice of Black Mask declared. "I don't WANT to hurt you, but I WILL if I have to," the rogue employee declared.

"Stay here: I'm going to stop the apparent Mexican stand-off before things get ugly," Batman declared jumping from the ledge they were on. Deciding to take the stairs down, they were startled by the sound of gunfire, which suddenly slowed down. "Now, you belong to me," Freeze suddenly declared. Everyone let out a breath they didn't know they were holding when they heard Batman declare, "I'll give you one chance to come quietly." As they started to enter the room, they saw Victor hold Ferris in a hostage position and declare, "You shouldn't bargain with someone with a frozen heart." With that, he aimed his freeze cannon at a propellant tank and fired.

"GET DOWN!" Batman yelled out just in time for the tank to explode, creating a large wall of ice blocking the way. Fortunately, none of the team was caught in the blast. "YOU IDIOT!" Black Mask, who was currently had his head sticking out of an ice block, yelled out, "Do you realize what you've done? Boyle's got the code's to some sort of super weapon or something and now YOU'VE let that frozen freak have it!" "That ice is the only thing stopping me from simply shutting you up," Batman deadpanned, inspecting the wall. "Don't bother," Roman declared, "Blasting through there would take too long. However, rumor has it that one of the labs has some sort of cryo-drill: one that the snowman worked in."

"If that's true, why didn't you just take it with the rest of the weapons you've stolen?!" Rachel demanded. "First off, because I didn't think my men would need it," Sionis declared, "and secondly because the lab was under quarantine after some kind of accident. I wouldn't go near there if my life depended on it." "Fortunately for you, I'm not as paranoid as you seem to be," Batman declared, heading off in the direction of the lab, the KND close behind.

(space bump)

As the group entered the control room of the lab, the first thing they noticed was how cold it was: they could only guess that the lab itself was even colder. The SECOND thing they noticed, however, was even more disturbing: a guard was lying on the ground dead, but his skin had the same blue coloration as the rogue employee. "There's more going on here than a simple accident," Batman stated, his hand to his cowl, "This guard is showing signs of having died of heat stroke, but the room doesn't show signs of overheating." Bending down next to the guard's feet, he grimaced, "There's a crystallized cryo-chemical on this guard's boots that seems to lead back into the lab." "What's so special about THAT?" Numbuh 4 demanded.

Turning to them, Batman replied, "This particular chemical is usually handled inside HAZMAT suits, which means there SHOULD be a container for this stuff back in the lab." Heading back into the lab, Numbuh 2 noticed some palm marks on the window. "Seems someone must have watched the security guard die," he surmised. Taking a closer look, Batman nodded, "Your right, and he was affected by the chemical as well." "And I think I know why," Numbuh 1 replied, pointing to a container that had been turn open from pressure build-up, "I wonder how many people were affected by the resulting blast." "Not that many," Batman remarked, studying a man that had been frozen solid, "This man was frozen BEFORE the tank ruptured." Picking up some ice on the ground that had flakes of red on them, he stated, "And judging by this frozen blood on the ground, I'd have to guess that it was the result of a mounted freeze cannon being knocked over, which would ALSO explain how the tank pressure went up so quickly."

"But there WAS somebody else affected by the blast," Numbuh 2 remarked from the corner, to which Rachel walked over and stated, "Not exactly: seems that there's a gun here with traces of blood on it, but I don't see any residue on it." Studying the gun, Batman growled, "I don't believe this." "What's wrong?" Tommy asked, to which Batman replied, "I've run a search on the fingerprints on this gun and there was a match: Ferris Boyle." "Uh, Batman," Numbuh 3 nervously stated, "I think you'll want to see this."

Coming over to the computer council the Japanese girl was at, he stated, "It all makes sense now." "It does?" Numbuh 4 inquired, having only barely followed any of this. "Seems this computer holds some e-mail transactions between Ferris and Victor Fries," Batman replied, "It ALSO is showing some data on someone who had been diagnosed with Huntington's Chorea." "I've heard of that," Numbuh 5 stated, "It's a terminal disease that slowly eats away at you from the inside." "You're correct, and apparently Victor's wife had contracted the disease a while back," the Dark Knight replied.

"So, you're saying that…?" Fanny began, to which the Capped Crusader nodded. "It seems Boyle hired Victor to help with some of the top secret cryo-technologies within Burton Corp; in exchange, Boyle would help Victor find a cure for Nora Fries' Huntington's," Batman summarized, "but just based on what I'm seeing here, Boyle was more interested in the unique way that Victor had put Nora into cryostasis." "Victor must have realized that Ferris had no intention on following through on their deal, since it seems he started to do the research himself," Numbuh 2 replied, to which Batman nodded, "At some point, Ferris brought some men in here to transfer Nora's body into another room, which started a struggle that caused an accident that, if I had to guess, altered Victor's metabolism, along with the guard we found outside."

Walking over to a work station that held some seemingly random parts, he stated, "The suit he wears appears to keep his core body temperature sub-zero, as without it, even standard room temperature will kill him." "All this violence," Numbuh 3 said with a sniffle, "and he was just trying to save his wife." "He still is," Batman declared, "Think about it: why else would Victor go to so much trouble to keep Black Mask out of that room back there?" "He's right!" Numbuh 2 realized, "Nora must still be in this building!"

Picking up what looked like a large coil, Rachel simply stated, "I take it we won't be needing this then?" "Actually, we will," Batman declared, "We can't let Victor kill Ferris, for Nora's sake." Picking up a small container, he stated, "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared: if I had to guess, this contains the super coolant in Victor's suit." "So what: you're planning to sabotage it or something?" Tommy inquired, to which Batman shook his head, "I'm going to sending an anonymous tip to the police and to the nearby hospitals: there's been ENOUGH bloodshed tonight." The others nodded as they exited the room.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

It's such an "Ice" Day (part 3)

Pressing a few buttons on his sleeve, Batman sighed and declared, "Ferris is more clever than I thought: he seems to have placed some jammers nearby to block remote communications." "No doubt so that any employees who caught wind of this couldn't contact the cops without being bribed into doing otherwise," Numbuh 86 said with a sigh, having seen her father do something similar. With a nod, the Dark Knight replied with, "You guys see if you can collect some physical evidence in case I'm unable to contact anyone in the next room."

"How do we do that?" Tommy inquired, to which Rachel, going over to the computer council, replied with, "See if you can help me retrieve some of the files on the hard drive." Taking out a camera, Numbuh 5 declared, "I'll document anything that could be interfered with later on: at least that way, the police will be able to know some of the story if the computer is frozen, literally." "What are you doing, Numbuh 4?" Nigel demanded, to which his comrade pointed at a couple of blueprints declared, "I might know a lot about what's REALLY going on here, but I know the specs for a weapon when I see one."

"Collect as many of those as you can find," Numbuh 2 declared, "but I've got something else I need to do." "Let me guess: Kuki went off to find a heater," Wally said with a groan. "Seeing as she left shivering a little after Batman left for the main corridor, I'd say so," the tech expert declared, "So I'm going to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid." "Not without me, you're not," Fanny said with a growl. Knowing they didn't have time to argue, Hoagie agreed.

(space bump)

The two KND operatives found Kuki scrunched up against a wall a while later. Just as they were about to ask what she was doing however, they saw Batman punching a few buttons on his sleeve and stating, "That will do for now." Before they could contemplate this, the Dark Knight activated his com-system. "Alfred, the jammers are preventing me from communicating outside of speaker-phone," the Caped Crusader declared, "Let me know if you got the information I collected on Boyle's crimes."

"There are a few gaps in the data here and there," a slightly distorted British voice declared, "but with a few adjustments I should be able to…and there we go: I'll send it to the police right away." "Thanks, old friend," the masked man said with a sigh. "And if I may be so bold, I wish to apologize," the apparent voice of Alfred declared, "I know you never wanted your suspicions about Burton Corp to be confirmed."

"That doesn't matter right now," the Dark Knight said with resignation, "Victor's plan never involved killing Boyle: he needs the security access Ferris has to get Nora out of here." "And now you're going to stop that from happening?" Alfred inquired, to which Batman stated, "Not exactly; I need you to contact Lucius Fox at Wayne Enterprises: tell him to get a delicate transport vehicle ready. Send the information on Victor and Nora Fries to the nearest hospitals as well while you're at it." "Does this mean that you'll need that gurney you mentioned earlier?" Alfred guessed. The Dark Knight simply replied with, "I am, but not for Victor."

"I don't believe it," Numbuh 3 all but screamed. "I know: Bruce Wayne is Batman!" Numbuh 86 whisper-yelled in reply. "He is?" Kuki whispered back, finally turning away from a way she was apparently looking at, "I was just saying that I couldn't seem to find the furnace on this wall directory here." "Look, we don't exactly have proof of Batman's identity yet, so let's keep this to ourselves for now," Numbuh 2 declared trying to defuse the situation. With a sigh, the two girl operatives nodded, even though they had a feeling that Hoagie was just as convinced of the unofficial theory as they were.

(space bump)

If Batman knew that three members of the team thought they knew his identity, he was an expert at the "Yiper look" (author's note: think "poker face" for that popular trading card game featured in the show). At any rate, everyone eventually made their way back into the corridor where Black Mask was still trapped. Before they could go any further though, the Dark Knight gestured for everyone to stay quiet. "What are you…?" was as far as Numbuh 362 got before Batman gestured to the room, which was crawling with thugs, with two of them armed with high-powered weapons.

"First rule of combat: always analysis the situation beforehand," the masked man declared, before taking out a Batarang, which was then heated up by some electrodes in his glove. "Second rule," he continued, "Know how to use your surroundings to your advantage." With that, he threw his weapon at an icicle hanging from the ceiling, shattering it and knocking the two armed thugs that happened to be standing beneath it unconscious. A few minutes of combat later and Sionis was once again all alone.

"You're going to get me out of this right?" Roman inquired. "You're good where you are," Batman deadpanned. "But you can't leave me: I'm freezing here!" Black Mask whined. "Don't worry," Numbuh 2 declared, "I'm sure the cops will give you a WARM welcome." "Please, man: not now," Numbuh 5 deadpanned. With that, everyone trudged forward, completely ignoring the complaints of the crime lord behind them.

(space bump)

As they came to the doorway to where everyone assumed that Nora would be located, Batman pulled out his grapnel gun and aimed it at the cover of an air duct. "Third rule of combat: never charge head first into a battle that may not be necessary," the Dark Knight quipped as he pulled the cover off the air vent. "You know, we COULD just use the door," Numbuh 3 remarked, to which Numbuh 4 scoffed, "Yeah, and get turned into popsicles right away."

"In a way, your friend's right," Batman remarked, "For all we know, the door could be frozen shut from the other side." With a reluctant nod, everyone followed the detective into the vent. As they crawled through, they heard Ferris belittling Victor like the cryogenist was the lowest life form on the planet, basically openly admitting that he wouldn't lift a finger for his former employee OR his wife. "Point of no return," Batman muttered to himself as he pressed the grate open.

Everyone quickly jumped to the ground as the vent cover was heard landing VERY loudly. Nobody was surprised when Victor froze the vent they had just entered. "Victor, you don't have to do this," Batman declared, signaling to the others to let him try and talk the former scientist down." "I'm only doing what needs to be done," was the man's reply. "I know the truth: I know about Nora. I promise you, Boyle will face judgment for his crimes," the Dark Knight declared.

"It was an accident," Ferris tried, "You don't know the whole story!" Victor, murder in his eyes, threw his former boss into a makeshift cell and fired his freeze gun, declaring, "Nothing matters: NOTHING BUT MY NORA!" "You've endangered countless lives tonight," Batman tried to reason with him, "Nora would never want this."

"You're right," Victor admitted, "She'd only wish to live in the warmth of the sun's light, her hand in mine." If there was any chance of ending this peacefully, it was shattered by Ferris banging on the cell door's glass window, for Mr. Freeze then stated, "However because of HIM, she'll only feel the icy touch of a man who's blood runs as cold as his emotions."

"Get out of here!" Batman yelled at his comrades, as he grappled up into the shadows. "Let's see how you deal with the air freezing in your lungs," Victor declared, pressing a few buttons on his suit. At this, various air vents pumped ice cold air into the room. Luckily, the KND operatives, and Tommy, were able to escape a fate of being frozen solid. Unfortunately, they managed to attract Victor's attention.

"You brought this on yourselves," the former scientist declared, before Batman was seen gliding into him. "I built this suit with multiple fail-safes," Victor revealed, "You can't stop me." Batman was quick to react as he disappeared once again into the shadows. "Don't make me do something we'll both regret," the cryogenist directed at the (former) member(s) of the KND before walking off to find the Dark Knight.

"Is it just me, or does him seem a bit…off?" Numbuh 1 declared. "Yeah," Numbuh 5 said with a nod, "It's almost like he doesn't WANT to be a villain." "He IS a villain," Fanny remarked, "but he's not THE villain." Everyone nodded at that.

(space bump)

A good five minutes passed and from what the KND could tell, Batman was winning the fight. Any chance of a flawless victory was suddenly cut short by a computer's voice declaring, "Warning: critical failure in capsule one; Prime subject, Nora Fries, in danger." "I'm coming, Nora!" Victor declared. That's when everyone realized what they'd already suspected: everything that Victor had done that night was done out of love for his wife.

"Sorry about this, Victor," Batman declared as he dropped to the ground. Getting underneath the platform the scientist was standing on, Batman forced Victor down and into the open, severely damaging the suits circuits. "Thanks for the assistance, Batman," declared the voice of a now free Ferris Boyle, "but you shouldn't have meddled in my affairs." Taking out a gun he had concealed, he shot the Dark Knight in the chest.

Too shocked for words, the Kids Next Door could only watch as Ferris declared, "And here I thought my reputation was in jeopardy due to the state of your lab. I mean nobody's going to believe a bunch of children, the only credible eyewitness is dead, and after everything YOU'VE done, no one will be questioning ME." Victor crawled forward, desperately trying to reach Nora's chamber. "Please," he pled, "You can save her: you'd just need to…"

"Sorry, Victor, but like you," Mr. Boyle interrupted, raising his gun to fire again, "Nora's been sentenced to death." "I don't think so," Batman declared from behind the businessman. Before Boyle could react, he was knocked unconscious. "Meeting's been canceled, humanitarian," the vigilante spat, before he walked over the computer council.

Victor watched in wonder as Batman pressed a few buttons, stabilizing his beloved wife. As Batman walked over to him, he felt his eyes produce tears for the first time sense his accident. "I know what it's like to lose those you care about Victor," the Dark Knight declared, "and I can't promise you peace, but I CAN give you justice." With that, the caped crusader produced another container of the super coolant and plugged it into the only thing keeping him alive, revitalizing him.

(space bump)

"How's everything going with our patents, Jim?" one Bruce Wayne inquired three days later to his contact/friend in the police force, Captain James Gordon. "They're holding up so far," he remarked, "the eight children we found in the room with the former Burton Corp employee/owner duo suffered the least injuries and should be able to go home tomorrow." "Speaking of Victor," the billionaire declared, "I've got some news that I'd like to pass onto him: Wayne Tech seems to be getting some serious headway in Nora's cure and we should be seeing positive results by the end of the week."

"That's good to hear," Jim remarked, "though I still don't understand why a man nominated for the Nobel Peace Price would turn to a life of crime." "I don't think it's all cut and dry, my friend," Bruce stated with a sigh, "Victor was pushed to the edge of despair and it's possible that his heart was chilled from such an experience." "But he's still a good man, right?" Fanny, who'd just returned from her daily "stroll" through the garden, inquired. "He may have lost sight of who he was after the accident," the billionaire said with a nod, "but not even the coldest of snow or darkest of nights can make us lose sight of our morality." As she watched Bruce Wayne leave to attend some business, she smiled. "You would know, wouldn't you?" she thought to herself.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's note:

Sorry about the lack of activity lately. Truth be told, I've had a lot on my plate lately. I won't bore you with the details though: instead, I'll just get right into the story. Hope you like it.

Chapter 6

Trouble Everywhere (part 1)

"Why are we here again?" Wally asked his not-so-secret crush while inside a lobby filled with a variety of colorful stuffed items, to which Kuki replied with, "Seems that Bruce Wayne and I have something in common: we BOTH happen to personally know the biggest collector of Rainbow Monkey art on the planet." "Technically, he's a collector of NAME BRAND art," Bruce said by way of reply as he walked over to them, "but otherwise, she is correct: John Marlow and I do go back a ways." "Wait: THE John Marlow?" Nigel, who came along with his cousin, Tina, to keep an eye on Wally, exclaimed, "He's supposed to be one of the most reclusive people in town!"

Looking around at all the people enjoying the collection, not to mention the "Alpha male" attitude being shown by the industrialist tween, Tina had to agree: this was NOT how the guy usually was. Before she could comment, however, she noticed the boy walking over to them. "Nigel, how's my hair?" she inquired, rapidly smoothing it down. He didn't get a chance to answer, as the twelve-year-old philanthropist directed his attention at the head of Wayne Industries.

"How is it that all the pretty girls gravitate towards YOU?" John joked as he shook Bruce's hand, his eyes on Tina the whole time. "Oh, no: we were just talking about the refreshments," she replied lamely. Shaking his head, John lead the group towards a rather peculiar portrait on display. "I'd think someone like YOU would be more interested in THIS," he declared.

"Oh, yeah: that's the famous recreation of Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper', made entirely out of Rainbow Munchies," Kuki declared, "You out-bid the Rainbow Monkey Fan Club for this." "It cost a fortune," he said with a nod, not seeming to notice the sound of elevator doors opening, "but it seems to be worth every penny."

"Exactly how many pennies are we talking?" declared an ominous voice from behind them. As Bruce Wayne silently slipped from the room, everyone was in awe as a man dressed in orange casually walked into the room. The only clue to his identity seemed to be the lowercase "e" that was displayed on his full facial mask. "Stand aside, or you won't be GETTING a last supper," the man declared.

Feeling anxious, Numbuh 10 placed a hand on John's shoulder and declared, "Please, don't do anything stupid." Shrugging off the shoulder, he threw a punch at the figure, who did a judo move to send him into a nearby house plant. "I'm pretty sure that qualified as stupid, Johnny boy," the figure deadpanned, only to be silenced by an aerial attack from the Dark Knight himself.

As sirens came into hearing range, the mystery figure seemed to smirk under his mask as he declared, "Hate to cut this meeting short, but I've got other places to be. Don't worry, though: you'll soon be seeing me EVERYWHERE!" With that, he ran through a conveniently placed doorway, or maybe not, as it turned out to be a janitor's closet. Deciding that the thief was cornered, Batman quickly opened the door and found…absolutely nothing.

It was at THAT moment that the police burst in through the door. "The thief's gone, officers," John Marlow stated, "but BATMAN might know what happened him!" "Can't argue with that logic," one of the policemen stated, "Batman, as the lieutenant of the Burtonville SWAT team, I'm taking you in for questioning." Taking a few steps back, the Caped Crusader declared, "Not tonight," before producing a smoke pellet and grappling into the ventilation system.

"Spread out and find him," the SWAT officer declared, before someone else declared, "Sorry, Branden, but we've got bigger issues to deal with." Freezing on the spot and producing an authoritative salute, SWAT officer Branden declared, "Captain Gordon, I wasn't aware you were going to be here." Before he could reply to this, the sudden outcry of "Daddy!" froze everyone in their tracks. Captain James Gordon gave the beginnings of a smile as a small girl, no older then five or six, ran into his arms.

"Hey, Barbara," the police captain declared as he picked the small girl up, "You behave yourself in the daycare center." "Well, that depends on your definition of 'behaving oneself,' Jim," Bruce declared, showing his PDA, which had detailed blueprints of the building displayed on it. Sighing, Captain Gordon declared, "I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne: if she doesn't become an expert hacker one day, I'll eat my badge."

"Actually, you should thank your daughter," Bruce deadpanned with an air of mystery, "I'm looking at the closet your men are inspecting right now and from what I can tell, it's possible that not even Batman could have escaped from that closet." "You're saying that these guests simply imagined that a robber ran into here!?" Branden barked, to which Bruce shock his head and declared, "I'm SAYING that you should consider that either it was robbed by someone who's familiar with this place and would know how to pull something like this off, or has access to some VERY hi-tech gear." "Could be both, for that matter," John declared, breaking into the conversation, "seeing as I've had some of my company's technology go missing around the same time that I let some of my employees go."

"That's right," Gordon mused, "Your family is part of a company that has done some research for quantum theory for the government." Just then, some strange noises began to appear. "Whoops, guess I accidentally brought it with me," Bruce declared, taking out a small device, "Lucius Fox and I have been working on a new way to detect radiation for use in nuclear power plants: a way to safeguard against leaks and such. Huh, that's odd." "How so?" Tina inquired, to which Bruce responded with, "I seem to be picking up low levels of radiation from inside the closet the thief went into."

"How accurate would those readings be?" Gordon inquired. With a shrug, Bruce responded with, "I can't say anything for certain, seeing as I'm picking up a similar reading from John Marlow himself, which personally makes me even more worried about him." "How so?" John sneered, to which Bruce gently replied with, "Something's different about you, John. This party, the way you apparently took on that thief earlier, even the way you're talking to people: it isn't, I don't know, you."

"What's the matter, Brucy?" John snapped, "Afraid of a little social competition? I'll admit that your readings might be accurate, as my work can get dangerous at times, but people can change regardless of that! I apologize if I no longer fit into some comfortable role you once defined for me." "Easy there, son: we're only trying to help," Jim chided, followed by Bruce declaring, "He's right: I didn't mean to upset you; I'm sorry." Sighing with resignation, the young scientist/collector declared, "It's fine, I guess: truth is, I HAVE been all over the place lately."

To be continued…

Author's note:

Thought I should do a chapter without Fanny's appearance, at least for the sake of variety. Anyways, this section of the story will be based off an episode of the 2004 "The Batman" animated series, for those who couldn't tell. Until next time, here's something to ponder: if in "Gilligan's Island" it was only supposed to be a three hour tour, why'd did they pack so many clothes?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

Trouble Everywhere (part 2)

"Remind me why I agreed to come along again," Numbuh 4 whined as they snuck through the hallways of the Burtonville S.T.A.R. Labs building, to which Numbuh 1 shrugged and stated, "Well, I've got a bad feeling that this is going to come down to a fight, and I don't want to take any chances. Of course, if you'd rather miss out on all the action…" Sighing, Wally declared, "Fine: consider me bribed. Still, why is SHE still here?" "I am NOT missing out on the opportunity to help Johnny," Numbuh 10 declared, before suddenly yelling, "Batman! I meant Batman."

"There's nothing stopping you from doing both," declared an authoritative voice coming from… "James Gordon?" Tina regarded with suspicion, "What are you doing here?" "I WAS going to tell you to leave this to the professionals," the police Captain replied, "but I'm well aware that not all criminals are necessarily villains. That said, while I won't ask you to leave, I WILL ask that you don't interfere with the investigation." "You and the rest of the police are still investigating the earlier robbery, aren't you?" Numbuh 3 inquired, to which he declared, "Can't say I'm the only one, though."

"Seems I may need to work on my stealth," declared the Dark Knight as he stepped out of the shadows. "Actually, up until now, I thought you'd left the building," Jim replied with humility, "though I hope you realize that the police aren't exactly your friends right now." "I know," Batman put simply, "but like it or not, this is bigger then either of us can handle alone."

"Explain," Nigel inquired, to which Batman showed them a set of blueprints for the building. "I managed to do a full building sweep of the radiation that Bruce Wayne picked up on earlier, and as far as I can tell, there are two sections of the building that has the highest concentration of said energy," the Dark Knight explained while pointing to two areas of the map, "If my hunch is correct, we'll find our thief in at least of one of these locations."

"What do you mean?" Kuki questioned, to which Captain Gordon replied with, "He means that there may be more then one player in this game." "I hate to say it, but I have to agree," declared a new voice. "Took you long enough, Harvey," Gordon remarked, to which he replied with, "Sorry that not all of us are in their prime." "It might help if you'd eat a salad every now and then, Bullock," the Caped Crusader deadpanned. "I'll deal with you later, freak," Harvey retorted, before turning his attention to his partner and declaring, "We may have a problem."

"Let me guess: Branden and his team got captured," Jim deadpanned, to which Bullock nodded and replied with, "Barely got away myself, actually. While I don't know exactly how many people we were up against, I DO know that they all work for the same guy: identical uniforms, right down to the last detail." Seeing the map Batman had pulled up, he suddenly did a double take. "Where did you say those radiation hot spots were again?" he inquired, looking a little pale as he did so.

(space bump)

"Can't believe I have to go back to where I nearly got killed AND have to babysit while doing so," complained one Harvey Bullock. "I'm sorry: do YOU have any hacking skills?" retorted one Barbara Gordon, who had tagged along with the officer, as well as Tina, Wally, and Nigel. "Quiet: I heard something," Numbuh 1 declared. Peaking around the corner, the group saw a trio of people dressed like the thief from earlier that night.

"Batman and Captain Gordon are being taken to the big guy even as we speak," one of them declared, "What's next on the agenda?" "You should already know," another replied, "Making sure the primary prisoner is secure." "He's new: cut him some slack," the third deadpanned, "Just a thought, however: it's possible we'll need more men." "Then we'll get more," the first one remarked, before all three of them reached for a device on their arm, somehow producing a duplicate of themselves as they did so.

As the group of six walked away, Numbuh 4 whisper-yelled, "Did you guys see that?" "See it? Yes," Bullock stated with equal shock in his voice, "Believe it? Not sure yet." Composing himself, he stated, "I think I know where they're keeping this 'primary prisoner' they were talking about: follow me." Nodding, the four children quietly slipped through the hallways until they eventually came to a room with what looked like a giant safe door being guarded by…

"Is that John Marlow?" Numbuh 1 almost screamed, not wanting to believe that the art collector was wearing the same costume as the thief minus the mask. "I'm sure he's got an explanation," Tina declared, though sounding a bit uncertain of it. "Explanation or not, he's going down!" Harvey deadpanned. "Hold up: if we charge in now, he might harm the prisoner," Barbara reminded them, before taking out a PDA and saying, "Let's see if I can even the odds a little…"

After she typed what looked to be a bunch of random commands into her personal hand-held computer, the lights went out in the area. "Stupid fuse box," John declared, putting down the magazine he was reading and walking off. After making sure the coast was clear, Barbara brought the lights back on. "Nice job, kid," Bullock remarked, "Think you can do something about the door?" Taking a look at the locking mechanism, she scoffed. "My grandmother has better security for her cookie recipes," she declared as she fiddled with it a little. However, nobody was prepared for who they found inside.

45 minutes earlier…

"I'm still not certain that letting my daughter go with my partner was such a good idea," Captain Gordon declared. "I know how you feel," Numbuh 3 said by way of reply, "but right now, we need to make sure that whoever stole that painting gets taken care of." "She's right: we've got bigger things to worry about," Batman replied with a nod, before turning his attention elsewhere. "Hang on: according to the records I found, this lab is supposed to be vacant right now," he mused as he approached a doorway, "yet the lights are on and there seems to be someone, or possibly a couple of someones, moving around in there."

"Better not take any chances," Jim replied as he cocked his gun. As they burst into the room, what they saw was curious to say the least: someone dressed like the thief from earlier going through some files like he was in the place every day. "Didn't you see the sign on the door?" the figure inquired, "This place is for employees only." With that he took a swing at the Dark Knight, only for him to block it and knock him to the ground.

Taking a chance, Batman grabbed the guy and pulled off his mask to reveal… "So what now, Marlow?" Jim retorted, "You teleport away again or something?" "Is that what I've been doing, Jimmy?" John inquired, "Because there's a MUCH simpler explanation; right behind you, in fact." Reacting on instinct, Jim ducked, just in time to avoid be assaulted by someone in the same costume as John Marlow.

"So you WEREN'T using advanced technology," Kuki guessed, "You just had someone else in the same costume." "Not exactly, little girl," John replied, helping his partner up and removing the mask to reveal…himself. Three sets of eyes widened as the duo of Marlow's pressed a button on their arm, producing a copy of themselves. Before anyone could react, however, an elevator door opened, revealing yet ANOTHER John Marlow. "Going up?" he joked.

Realizing that they'd better cooperate for now, they joined the five Marlow's in the elevator. After a long, awkward ride, they reached the penthouse level, the doors opening to reveal yet ANOTHER John Marlow, who gestured for them to come in. "You've been expected," he revealed. "Welcome Batman, and Captain Gordon," came a voice they'd heard far too often already, "Allow me to introduce myself." The lone John Marlow not in an orange suit then declared, "I am the Everywhere Man."

After an uncomfortable silence, business suit John Marlow sighed, "I wish that it didn't have to be like this, but now that you know my secret, I CAN'T let you leave. Just so there are no hard feelings, however, I might as well explain some things." Resisting the urge to grab his gun, James Gordon stated, "I don't understand why such an expert in quantum theory would do something like this." "Thing about theories, Jimmy, is that some of them can bear fruit," John replied gesturing to a device on his arm, "The research eventually lead to the development of the Quantex: with it, I can charge my body's quantum particles to duplicate another me."

As he said this, he had the nerve to demonstrate in front of them, before stating, "My energy duplicates can split at will, but with the Quantex, I can also RECALL them at will." Again, he decided to demonstrate to them. "So THAT'S how you escaped from the closet," Kuki gasped, to which John chuckled, "Slight of hand, I know. You have to admit that it's VERY effective. Yet, that's the LEAST it can do." Deciding another demonstration was in order, he touched one of the vases in his office and created a duplicate of it.

"You're creating duplicates of high priced art," James said with barely suppressed anger. "Allowing me to not only gang money for my research by selling copies to the highest bidder," John replied, "but let me have the originals in my collection." "Don't you mean the collection and research of John Marlow?" Batman suddenly deadpanned, "After all, you're hot with the same radiation that was found in the closet."

"Impressive deduction, Dark Knight," business suit Everywhere Man replied, "I was copy number one. It seems that while Johnny was a brilliant scientist, but sometimes the original isn't always the best. You see, he kept me around so I could be his lab partner, but when you keep a duplicate around long enough, they tend to get free will. Johnny and I both admired our art collection and liked to invest in admittedly expensive research, but he wasn't willing to do what was necessary to get things done. However, that doesn't mean that I WASN'T."

"Enough with the collection," one of the duplicates suddenly shouted, "All this power and we're only focusing on paintings." "Excuse me?" Copy number one inquired. "Who cares about art or science? We could use the Quantex to conquer the world!" the same duplicate declared. "Like a bad photo copy," Batman observed, to which Jim added, "Each new version is just a little darker then the last." "Shut up!" Copy number one demanded, to which the duplicate retorted with, "Don't tell them to shut up: SHUT THEM UP! If you can't handle things here, I will!"

If there was any levity to that threat, it was silenced when said duplicate vanished. "Like I said, the presence of free will eventually emerges," Copy number one mused, "but I know how to deal with it when it does." "And the original John Marlow didn't?" Kuki inquired with a gulp. "Not in the slightest," was the answer, to which James sighed, "Which is why he was disposed of."

"I never dispose of anything," Copy number one said with a growl, "I'm a collector, after all." "And collections are typically kept close at hand," Batman declared, "which means John Marlow's still in this building, and that's all I needed to know." Before any of the Everywhere Men could react, the Dark Knight produced a smoke pellet, which produced enough of a distraction for the trio to get away.

Present time…

"You really expect us to believe that we've been dealing with evil twins or something?" Harvey demanded. "What you believe makes no difference," the REAL John Marlow, who looked like he hadn't eaten, bathed, or slept in days, replied, "The fact remains that the Quantex is too dangerous to turn a blind eye to it." "How do we know you're really John Marlow?" Tina demanded, "Dangerous inventions or not, someone with your face has made a habit of making the lives of me and my friends miserable, and if you think for one second that…" Before anyone could react, John Marlow grabbed Tina and started to kiss her. Shocked at first, she eventually melted into it, even returning the gesture.

Finally coming up for air, Numbuh 10's only reply was, "Okay, I'm convince." "I'm glad," was John Marlow's response. "I hate to ruin the romantic moment," Nigel remarked, "but don't you think we should get out of here?" "Not until we rescue the rest of the officers that came here," Harvey stated, reminding them of the situation. "Well, at least things can't get any worse," Wally declared.

As if on cue, the PA system came to life: "Attention, Everywhere Men: Batman and Captain James Gordon are loose in the building. You know what to do: divide and conquer." Even hiding inside the improvised jail cell, it was clear that every single one of these "Everywhere Men" were creating duplicates in droves. Keeping themselves hidden as best they could, they felt sheer terror as the disadvantage of numbers continued to grow. "When all is said and done," John Marlow's voice declared, "they are but single men, but we…" Everyone shuddered when the voices of at least a hundred men declared in unison, "We are an ARMY!"

"You just HAD to say it, didn't you?" Sector V's leader growled, to which Numbuh 4 had the decency to look embarrassed. "We need to get reinforcements," Harvey declared. "Yeah, like our own army is just going to appear around us," Tina said with a snarl. "Who said that it couldn't?" the original John Marlow suddenly stated, to the confusion of everyone else.

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

Trouble Everywhere (part 3)

"Batman and company are heading to the Aviary: all Everywhere Men to the Aviary." was the last thing the PA system managed to get out before the combined company of the Dark Knight, Captain Gordon, and Kuki/Numbuh 3 found themselves thrown into what could be best described as an indoor jungle. As they fought off the essentially literal one-man army to the best of their abilities, Numbuh 3 took notice of a brief conversation between Batman and James Gordon:

Batman: You fight well.

Captain James Gordon: Had a rough childhood…this doesn't make us friends, you know.

Batman: I know.

Later on, Kuki would find it heartwarming that these two were becoming fast allies/companions without even realizing it. Right now, however, she was just wishing that the onslaught would be over soon. Unfortunately, Murphy and his ever-present Law were alive and well, as John Marlow's Copy Number One suddenly interrupted their concentration with, "Oh come now, Batman: how long do you, do ANY of you think you can last. It hardly matters how many of me you, Jimmy, or your little companion break: I'll just make more." True to his word, despite having taken down a considerable number of copies, they were soon out-numbered again.

Despite finding time to chuckle, however, John Marlow's first copy soon found his bravado briefly shaken by a declaration of "And will they all be as butt-ugly as you?" before finding himself being thrown off his feet by a determined Wally/Numbuh 4, not to mention a number of the copies taken down curtesy of some quick maneuvers by Nigel/Numbuh 1 and some admittedly pretty decent shots from the gun of one Harvey Bullock. Getting up and glaring at the trio, Copy Number One quickly regained his confidence, boasting that "Three more enemies doesn't quite make a difference against my army."

One would think that he was right, especially when two of his soldier suddenly became two-dozen, yet the trio remained firm. "Yeah, but what if we're not just THREE more?" Harvey quipped, the cop showing a devise on his belt that looked strangely like… "What are you doing with my prototype?!" the John Marlow Copy demanded, before registering that Numbuh's 1 and 4 had similar devises. Then, as a show of bravado as well as an answer to the spoken question, all three active the gadget attached to their belts. As three quickly became thirty, Numbuh 1 declared, "Check out OUR army."

Needless to say, the battle quickly turned in favor of the KND, Batman, and the members of the BPD. However, as the trio steadily took away the Everywhere Men's advantage of sheer numbers, Copy Number One FINALLY noticed some people not actively participating in the battle: Barbara Gordon, who was currently hacking into his systems to free his hostages, and Tina/Numbuh 10, who was busy guarding… "Well, if it isn't old Johnny boy," he said with a sneer, "I THOUGHT it might be a good idea to just eliminate you: I suppose I always WAS a bit too sentimental, though."

"True enough," the REAL John Marlow agreed, "You even made sure to keep the old Quantex prototypes around: that's going to be your downfall." "I don't think so," Copy Number One declared, "There's a reason a prototype's JUST a prototype. After all, the original isn't always the best." As if on cue, the three devices on Harvey, Nigel, and Wally started to spark. "That doesn't look good," officer Bullock whined. "The units are all overloaded," John Marlow quickly stated, worry evident in his voice.

"Oh, it's MUCH worse than that, Johnny boy: the duplicates are unstable," Copy Number One smugly corrected him, even as one of Numbuh 4's copies started to round on him. "One solid punch…" he further explained, dodging the fiery boy's assault, before proceeding to demonstrate: "…and poof." A few of the Everywhere Men destroying a few copies of Numbuh 1 and Harvey Bulluck clearly demonstrated it wasn't an isolated incident.

Nigel experimentally tried to activate his Quantex prototype anyway, only for it to spark some more, before giving off some smoke and... "That's it: it's dead," John Marlow grieved, "We're on our own." "Fine with me," Wally quipped, quickly tossing his prototype aside without bothering to follow sector leader's example, "Math never WAS my strong suit." With a shrug, Harvey quickly followed the kid's example, declaring, "If I'm going down, I'm going down fighting."

The battle raged on, Barbara Gordon even surprising a few combatants, including Batman and her father, by taking out a dozen or so of the Everywhere Men who had stopped her hacking attempt at one point. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the prototype spawned copies were soon all destroyed and the combatants soon found themselves being overwhelmed again. Eventually, the original John Marlow found himself being taken hostage by some of his rouge copies. Amused at his templates protests, Copy Number One briefly surveyed the battle, greatly pleased to see the combatants all running short on ammo and resources: "You might as well give up. I mean, the battle's essentially over anyway: it's only a matter of time."

However, despite being surrounded himself and wielding only his grappling gun, Batman remained defiant. Turning his attention to his opponents, he declared, "Did you hear what he said? 'It's only a matter of time.'" "Before you're finished," was the immediate response he got from one of the copies. Nodding, Batman then added, "And before you ALL cease to exist." "Think about it," he said, raising his voice bit by bit so that more and more were able to hear him, "Where's Copy Number One going to be able to store a few hundred John Marlows, and how long would he be able to stand the competition?" With finality, he shouted for the entirety of the room to hear, "You destroy us, destroy ME, and you'll only be destroying yourself."

For the briefest of moments, James Gordon began to ponder the hidden message in that last statement. This was all interrupted, however, by one of the John Marlow copies asking whether Batman was possibly right. Despite Copy Number One's best efforts, one defiant copy became two, then ten, then twenty, then a hundred. When a few of the copies declaring that they'd be sticking by his side started to ease his mind, however, the REAL John Marlow dropped the bomb: "They all look alike: how will you know who's with you and who's against you?"

"Quiet: you want him to recall all of us?" one of the copies holding him down snapped. Despite the obvious threat, the original John Marlow simply smirked. "Why not? It's what I'D do," he declared with finality. This one statement was the straw that broke the camel's back, as many more of his copies started to surround Copy Number One. Not seeing any other alternative, the original Everywhere Man recalled the entire army. His relief was only brief, however, as Batman swung up to the balcony, ready to fight alongside, among others, Barbara Gordon, Numbuh 10, and James Gordon.

"You haven't won yet," Copy Number One declared. "Yeah, I'm pretty we have you outnumbered," Numbuh 4 deadpanned. "I'll create another army of Everywhere Men," the Copy said lamely. "With the same result," Batman promised, to which the Copy started to panic, stating, "I can just recall it, as many times as I have to: eventually, you WILL fall."

If there was any validity to his threat, he wouldn't get to show it, because at THAT moment, the REAL John Marlow grabbed the arm that housed the Quantex. "Do us all a favor and just SHUT UP!" he barked out, pressing a button on the devise and FINALLY recalling his first copy. Slumping to the floor, he moaned, "I wanted to help people EVERYWHERE, but all I did was let myself become…NOWHERE Man." "I'm sure the investigation will turn up exactly that," assured James Gordon, giving Harvey Bullock a glare that told him to keep quiet. Looking to Batman, the police captain then declared, "I SHOULD be trying to take you in, but I'm not sure I'd win THAT fight."

Smirking, the Caped Crusader turned and started to walk off. Despite the earlier glare, however, Harvey found it in him to protest, "Hey, wait a minute: he's NOT allowed to just walk away." "You want to stop him? Be my guest," Captain Gordon replied with a slight grin. Needless to say, when Officer Bullock turned around, the Dark Knight was long gone.

(line break)

"John, it's nice of you to have donated your entire collection to the children's museum," Bruce Wayne commended his old friend during a visit to said art gallery two weeks later. Nodding, John Marlow, who had been given a pardon on condition of handing over his research to the local science committee replied with, "It seemed like the right thing to do after everything I did." "What you…John: YOU didn't do anything," Bruce corrected him. "Perhaps," John said with a nod, "but…I don't know: the Quantex used the core being as a starting point and well, part of me always wanted to be like that other Marlow: commanding, cool, confident…but I guess on some level, it's a good thing the only place I felt comfortable was inside my shell."

"There room for one more in that shell?" inquired a new voice. Turning, the two friends spotted Tina, with Nigel and Kuki a good distance away (Wally having apparently elected to stay home this time around). Nervously, John approached his long-time crush. Taking pity on her mutual attraction, she sighed, "Johnny, you've been spending WAY too much time locked up in your labs with just yourself. Maybe you like to stick around and hang around…" "…with you?" he inquired, before taking her hand, "You have no idea how much I wanted you to ask that." Needless to say, nobody was surprised when the two kissed.


End file.
